


taking back the crown

by forpuckssake



Series: ice queen [3]
Category: Men's Hockey RPF, Women's Hockey RPF
Genre: Gen, Rookie Year, Team Bonding, Teambuilding, ahl, elle learns to deal with ThingsTM, theo is ready to fight people
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-12
Updated: 2019-04-17
Packaged: 2020-01-12 08:02:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,312
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18442403
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/forpuckssake/pseuds/forpuckssake
Summary: They called her Ice Queen.It was not necessarily a good thing.---Her draft interview gave her a reputation, and even though it was difficult, Elle learned to roll with it.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> hello again! elle is back y'all
> 
> this is a direct sequel to sugar and spite, so you might want to read that before this one for all the details. i guess you could still read this as a standalone, but why do that when you could be an overachiever and read them all?
> 
> anyway, this title comes from the song emperor's new clothes from panic at the disco. 
> 
> (it might have been playing on repeat as i wrote this)
> 
> so yeah! this is part one of this story, and as a whole it follows elle's first few months in pro hockey from training to the season. chapter 2 is in the works :)
> 
> warnings are in the end notes. please read those before proceeding if there is anything at all you might be sensitive to.

They called her Ice Queen.

It was not necessarily a good thing.

 _The Flyer’s sixth-round pick Eleanor Queen had some harsh words for the press covering the NHL draft,_ one article said. _With an icy stare and a frigid personality, she might be better known as Ice Queen._

Elle’s least favorite article contained the actual phrase, _Queen, 18, would look much nicer if she smiled._

“That’s ridiculous,” her brother raged, scowling down at his phone as he scrolled through the various articles. “They don’t mention your hockey _once_.”

“Are we really surprised?” Elle asked wearily. She had thrown herself across the living room couch at home, enjoying her time in her own house before she would have to head to Pennsylvania in a few weeks. “All anyone cares about for female athletes is how they look or how they react. No one cares about their accomplishments.”

“It’s such bullshit,” Calvin huffed.

“I don’t really want to think about it right now,” she admitted. In fact, she would rather not think about it _ever_. “Can we go do something?”

“Yeah, of course,” Calvin replied immediately, shoving his phone into his pocket. “You feel like ice cream?”

“God, yes.”

 

* * *

 

Elle managed to avoid as much press as possible all summer, though the Flyers PR team had been quite insistent on her going through training to better answer interview questions, especially after her first interview from her draft day had gone viral on the internet and gained quite a bit of criticism.

Then again, it had gained quite a lot of praise and laughs, too. No one seemed to care about that, though—Elle was a frigid bitch in the eyes of most of the NHL’s demographic, and nothing would change that.

She wasn’t surprised to find that most of that criticism had come from men and Don Cherry. She hadn’t even realized Don Cherry was still relevant, but he continued to open his mouth and people continued to listen to him for some reason.

After her PR training, she was expected to do an interview with Flyers beat reporters as the first female to ever be drafted in the NHL. It wasn’t nearly as cringy as she had initially thought, and no one asked her anything too controversial or prying and nothing was twisted out of context in the final interview, so she counted it as a win.

 

* * *

 

Showing up to rookie training camp was definitely the hardest part of the entire ordeal.

Elle didn’t know how the locker room situation would work, so she wound up wearing compression shorts and a tank top under a baggy t-shirt and shorts so that she could change and still maintain some sense of modesty if she was expected to change with the guys.

The locker room was filled with men, which was to be expected, of course. There were guys from the AHL Lehigh Valley Phantoms affiliate, and guys that had just been selected at the draft and were hoping to make it onto the team on their first try. All rookies, just like her, but also _not_ like her.

Elle was fully aware that she was sixth-rounder and would likely never step foot on the ice of an actual NHL game. Still, it was amazing to have even been selected by an NHL team at all, and she would make the most of it while she still could.

She walked to her stall without making eye contact with anyone, keeping her head high and her shoulders back to exude a confidence that she knew must have seemed forced. She sat down with her bag and took off her sneakers, trying to ignore the lowering in conversation that seemed to announce her entrance.

A shadow fell across her as she was pushing her shoes under the bench, and when she looked up, another rookie stood in front of her with a smile on his face and his hand outstretched.

“Hi,” he said. Elle recognized his face but couldn’t think of his name, which was embarrassing since she had literally been in the same room as him when he’d been drafted fifth overall by the very team she was also a rookie for. “I’m Aaron Kelley.”

Elle stood, holding out a hand to accept the offered handshake. “Elle Queen,” she returned.

The guy grinned and shook her hand lightly before pulling away. “I know. Your interview is the best thing to ever exist. My girlfriend threatened to breakup with me if I didn’t bring her a signed puck or something.”

Elle perked up a bit, letting out a laugh that wasn’t forced like it often was when dealing with male hockey players. “Well, I can’t let a puck be what breaks up a couple.”

Aaron grinned. “Great. I’ll definitely be tracking you down for it later.”

“AK, stop with the flirting and get ready,” another one of the rookies called from across the room.

Aaron’s smile dropped completely from his face as he turned to whoever had spoken. “Can you shut the fuck up while I attempt to have a civil conversation with _our teammate_?”

Elle was fairly certain that she would enjoy playing with Aaron very much.

 

* * *

 

With one good thing came a plethora of bad things, of course.

For one Aaron Kelley, Elle had to experience what felt like an entire team of douchebags who either thought she couldn’t actually play or were making crude comments about putting her hands to better use than catching a puck.

In fact, it was on the ice that Elle met Theo and immediately wanted to punch him in the face. Meeting him was by far the most unpleasant of all meetings.

“You’re a little small to be a goalie aren’t you?” was the first thing out of his mouth as he glided by her during a break for water.

It was something she’d been told for years, and though it had used to bother her, it was one of the very few things that no longer did. She was considered average for a woman at 5’5, but she would always be small by NHL standards. It was something that she didn’t have any control over, and it was no longer a source of insecurity.

Still, she didn’t like it when people used her height to poke fun at her.

Elle smiled in a way that was dangerous. “Hi, my name is Elle, thanks for asking. You’re a little dumb to have made it this far in life, _aren’t you_?”

He blinked confusedly. “Well, considering I graduated in the top five percent of my class in high school—”

“I really don’t give a shit. Please don’t talk to me ever again, whatever-your-name-is.”

“Michael Theodore, but just Theo is fine.”

“I’m sure it is.”

“Dude,” Aaron sighed from where he had observed the whole thing, shaking his head in disappointment as Elle skated away.

 

* * *

 

Elle left the ice seething, her face flushed and body shaking with more than just exertion and soreness. She changed quickly in the locker room, ignoring the other guys around her as they ignored her as well, joking and talking with each other normally. Theo hadn’t been the first one to be shitty, and he hadn’t been the last (or even the worst), either. Elle was very unimpressed with the team that she was supposed to be a part of thus far.

Even though she would have her own stall in the locker room with the guys, she had to walk down to the visitor’s locker room in order to take a shower on her own. She didn’t spend long standing in the large room by herself—it was far too unnerving to be alone when she was so used to her teammates from juniors or school surrounding her—so she washed off quickly and returned to her stall.

Other guys were lounging around in just their towels as they prepared to change, but Elle had finished changing in the other locker room. She kept her eyes down as she braided her damp hair and went about packing away her belongings into her bag.

She mostly ignored the conversation around her until Aaron’s, “You’re going too, right, Elle?” infiltrated her thoughts.

Elle looked up from where she was tying her shoes, startled.  “Going where?”

“We’re gonna grab some lunch,” Aaron said.

“Oh, uh—” She paused and looked at the guys all gathered around, most of which had looks on their faces that indicated they really would rather she not go.

One thing to note about Elle was that she was the kind of person that did things that people didn’t want her to do just because _she could_ , which is the only reason she found herself saying, “Yeah, sure. Where are we going?”

 

* * *

 

They all ended up at _Chipotle_ , which Elle was totally fine with. She was hungry enough to eat, like, five burritos, but she refrained and only ordered one and some chips and guac.

It started out fine, but Theo had tagged along, too. Elle pointedly sat on the opposite side of the table from him, as far away as she could get.

She wasn’t too involved in the conversations, so she didn’t feel bad answering her phone when it buzzed with an incoming call, especially since it was Calvin’s name that appeared on the screen.

“How is my favorite sister?”

“I’m the only one you’ve got, nimrod.”

The table quieted when they realized she was on the phone, and she suddenly felt self-conscious. Her brother, of course, could not see her and therefore had no idea how uncomfortable she was.

Calvin chuckled. “How was your first day of rookie camp?”

“It was good,” she said mildly. “I’m actually at lunch with some of the guys right now. Can I call you when I get back to my room, or will you be busy?”

“Never too busy for _my favorite sister_ ,” Calvin chirped pointedly. “Kindly remind your new pals to treat you right or I’ll have their heads.”

“I won’t.”

“I hope anyone who messes with you runs out of clear tape for their socks and needs to use something ridiculous in its place. Maybe neon green? I feel like that would clash _terribly_ with orange.”

Elle rolled her eyes, smiling. “ _Bye_ , Cal.”

She hung on his cackling, only to be met with curious stares from her teammates. “What?” she demanded, frowning.

“Boyfriend?” one of the other rookies, Owen, she was pretty sure, asked.

“Gross, no. That was my brother.”

“… So you don’t have a boyfriend then?” Theo asked, speaking to Elle for the first time since their disastrous first encounter.

“No,” Elle said, quickly becoming more irritated. “And before you ask, _no_ , I don’t have a girlfriend either. Not that it’s any of your business.” She started gathering all her trash as she stood. “I have to go. See you all tomorrow.”

 

* * *

  

“So, _really_ , how did it go?”

Elle sighed, staring up at the ceiling of her hotel room. “It was fine,” she said. “I’m really sore, and—”

“That’s not what I meant, and you know it.”

Curse Calvin and his ability to call her out on her bullshit. “It sucked,” she murmured, feeling rather small. “Most of them were jackasses. Someone even told one guy that he shoots like a girl. He didn’t say it _to_ me, obviously, but it still bugged me.”

“And then you called him out, I hope.”

“Fuckin’ _duh_. I told him if he shot like a girl, he might shoot a little better next time.”

Calvin cackled. “ _Fantastic_. Were they really _all_ that bad?”

“Hm, not all. Aaron Kelley, I don’t know if you remember him from the draft, but he was super nice. There were a few people that just didn’t say anything to me at all, and I count that as a win, but this one guy, Theo— _ugh_. He told me I was too small to be a goalie.”

Calvin snorted. “Real original. You didn’t maim him, did you?”

“No, I was in public. Can’t maim people when there are witnesses.”

Her brother let out a quiet laugh. “I really wish I was there with you, Elle. Or that you were here. It’s gonna suck not being on the same team as you.”

“We haven’t been on the same team since we were, like, twelve. You’ve done just fine for six years,” Elle said, rolling her eyes.

“Still. At least I saw you at home. The first thing I wanted to do after practice today was go get ice cream with you.”

“Yeah, me too,” Elle admitted quietly. “But you’re gonna play in the NHL, Cal. Ice cream can wait.”

“You’ll be there too.”

Elle wanted that more than anything, but she knew better than to get her hopes up.

 

* * *

  

The second day of rookie training was nearly identical to the first, with far less chirping directed at Elle that was related to her size and gender.

Day three involved a morning practice, just like the first two, but at the end the rookies all changed into their nice clothes and piled onto a bus to drive to New York to play against the rookie Islanders.

Theo hadn’t spoken to her since the disastrous ending to lunch, but on the bus he plopped down next to her in the aisle seat. He had his phone out with what looked like Netflix on the screen, along with a pair of headphones.

“Do you like _Friends_?” he asked.

Elle recognized an olive branch when she saw one, and if she were a lesser person, she might tell him to fuck off. As it was, Elle was very aware that they had to get along in order to be teammates.

“Phoebe is amazing,” Elle said, and Theo grinned.

 

* * *

  

Her jersey number was one giant joke, Elle was fairly certain. There was no way she was randomly assigned 33.

Aaron took one look at the jersey when she held it up and cackled. “I love it,” he declared. “From first woman to play to the first woman drafted. It’s fitting.”

Elle had been told by her parents to avoid reading about herself in the press, but she had never listened. One article had interviewed Manon Rheaume to ask her of her opinion on Elle being the first woman to be drafted in the NHL, and she had done nothing but sing praises, saying that it was about time the NHL got its head out of its ass long enough to see that there was talent in women playing hockey.

“I don’t want to be Manon Rheaume, though,” Elle said.

“Good thing she wasn’t drafted,” Aaron agreed wryly. “Elle Queen was drafted, though, and I hear she’s alright.” He shrugged as if to show he was indifferent, but it definitely made her feel better.

Elle grinned. Aaron seemed to know exactly what to say. “Let’s hope so.”

 

* * *

 

They lost 7-3.

The locker room was quiet, disappointment hanging heavy in the air. Though it had been a rookie exhibition game, it was still unfortunate to lose so spectacularly when you were trying to demonstrate that you were worth keeping around.

Aaron patted her helmet as Elle sat at her stall, eyes burning while she stared at the floor. She had yet to move, too nervous that making eye contact with one of her teammates would send her bursting into tears of anger and shame at the look of disgust that was likely to be on their faces.

Finally, after what felt like forever, Elle took off her helmet and began the process of getting out of her pads. Most of the other guys were almost done or completely done stripping out of their gear, and some had even returned from the showers.

Theo nudged her as he passed by, smiling tentatively.

Elle did not smile back.

 

* * *

  

The rest of training camp was intense.

Guys were throwing up every practice from overexertion. The Phantoms and prospects and even other Flyers were all competing for the same roster spaces.

Carter Hart was a phenomenal goalie, and he had taken one look at her as he entered the room and introduced himself like she was any other person. He hadn’t said anything about her gender, or about her size, and he chatted with her whenever she was feeling awkward or out of place. He even slipped her his phone number, mumbling that she could call him if she ever had a problem or needed any help.

It was a very dad thing for him to do, and Elle made sure to enter the number under the contact name _Goalie Father_ in her phone. Carter snickered a little when he saw it, and in response made her name _Goalie Child_.

The other goalies were a little more standoffish.

As Carter’s backup, Nikita Nikitin was a decent guy up front, if a little stiff and hesitant to talk to her. Elle knew what he thought—he had been quoted in the past as saying that women didn’t belong in the NHL, and Elle would _never_ forget that.

There were two goalies for the Phantoms, and one was far nicer than the other, though both were not exactly the friendliest. The backup goalie for the AHL affiliate of the Flyers was a quiet guy barely a few years older than her, Isaac Davis. He didn’t say much, but he exuded quiet disapproval, which was almost worse than _outright_ disapproval.

The other goalie, the starter for the Phantoms, was _horrible_.

Actually, Henry Yanez was the worst person she had encountered since being drafted. He spewed endless misogynistic, sexist chirps.

_“You scared of catching the puck? Afraid to break a nail?”_

_“Can you even reach the crossbar?”_

_“You’re not going to make any team with the way you keep missing these easy shots!”_

_“So much for being Ice Queen, eh?”_

Elle liked to pretend that she had thick skin, but when every other word spoken to her was an insult or degrading in some way, she felt her composure begin to crack.

"Don't call me that," she snapped at him.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" he gasped quietly. "Does it bother you, Your Royal Highness?"

She scowled and didn't respond, doing her best to tune him out again. Her draft day interview had painted her to be some kind of badass, but her words then had been a verbal stream of consciousness that came from letting her irritation boil over. The articles after that had been brutal about her actions, and though they painted her as frigid and cold, Elle knew that she was not all that great at ignoring people when they said hurtful things, even if she pretended to be.

No one noticed what was being said to her for the first two days except Aaron, who had overheard Henry at the end of their second practice and appeared in front of her once the veteran goalie had gone off to shower.

“Has he been saying that shit to you this entire time?”

Theo came to his side, frowning. “What’s wrong, babe?”

Elle knew if she didn’t end this soon, she would cry. She _always_ cried when she was mad, and Henry Yanez was doing a decent job of making her _absolutely livid_.

“Yes,” she told Aaron hollowly, ignoring Theo’s question, “But it’s nothing I can’t handle. I’m fine.”

“Bullshit,” Aaron hissed.

“Drop it,” she snapped in return, shoving past both of them to shower. With the water running, it wouldn’t even look like she was crying.

 

* * *

  

The next day at practice when Henry hung out just off to the side of the net while Elle took practice shots, the verbal abuse continued.

“Pathetic,” he said. “What are you even _doing_ here?”

Elle missed the puck that came flying at her from the left circle.

“That’s disappointing. I thought you were supposed to be some hot-shot goalie, with the way everyone’s been sucking your dick. Oh, _wait_.”

She missed again, and then whirled on Henry, her face feeling hot.

“Can you shut the fuck up for five seconds?” she yelled. “Are you really so threatened by a girl that you feel the need to come up with the stupidest fucking chirps, ones that I’ve already heard? You think you’re really smart, don’t you? You’re using recycled material, buddy.”

One of the assistant coaches skated up to them. She didn’t remember his name, but she made a note to do so after what happened next because she wanted to make sure he made Calvin’s shit list.

“Go get changed,” he told her. “You’re done.”

Elle turned on him next. It probably wasn’t wise to yell at some of the staff who would likely be deciding her future as a player, but she was too angry to care. “Why am _I_ done? He’s the one who—”

“Change out,” he barked.

“Hey,” Aaron called, skating over. “Yanez has been harassing her for days. Elle did nothing wrong.”

“You want to change out too, Kelley?”

Aaron ground his teeth loudly. “If she leaves, then I leave.”

Henry snorted. “You’re ruining your chances of making this team for some girl. Don’t be fucking stupid.”

“Don’t be a fucking _prick_ ,” Aaron shot back.

That was how both Aaron and Elle found themselves in the Flyers locker room, changing out of their gear. Aaron was eerily quiet as Elle sniffled, trying to hold back angry tears.

“What a fucking joke,” he said once they had changed completely. They hadn’t even bothered to shower, both shaking too much with anger.

Elle swallowed a lump in her throat, but her eyes still stung. “I’m sorry,” she said. It was one thing to be kicked out of practice for something that she hadn’t done, but to also have been responsible for getting someone else kicked out made her feel horrible.

Aaron softened immediately. “Don’t be sorry,” he said calmly, plopping down on the bench next to her and nudging her with his elbow. “You have _nothing_ to be sorry for.”

“I got you kicked out of practice.”

“ _I_ got me kicked out of practice,” Aaron corrected. “You didn’t _do_ anything, Elle.”

Theo came strolling into the room then, his nose bloody. “’Sup babes?” he said, and the nasally, congested words were a definite indication that his nose was broken.

She forgot all about being angry as instant panic and worry set in. “Holy fuck,” Elle shrieked, scrambling for a towel. Theo didn’t seem to care much about the blood dripping onto his white practice jersey, nonchalantly accepting the towel she shoved at him.

“Did you just quote Ovechkin post Cup win?” Aaron demanded, delighted.

“Yeah, I figured I’m rocking the red, so,” Theo said, pulling the towel away. His nose gushed, and Elle frantically reached out to shove his arm back toward his face.

Aaron cackled gleefully, and Elle wondered if all men were fucking crazy or if it was just the two of them in particular.

“What happened?” she demanded.

Theo’s voice was muffled by the towel pressed to his face when he said, “Oh, I got in a fight,” like one might say _great weather we’re having today._

“With Yanez?” Aaron asked. He sounded far too cheerful.

“Who else?”

Elle stared. “Dude. _You’ve_ said sexist shit to me, too.” His sexism had been born of ignorance when it came to socializing and hadn’t been outright antagonistic, but it had been sexism all the same.

Theo grimaced behind the towel. “Yeah, but I’m _trying_ , okay? I’m going to do better.”

One of the trainers came into the room with a bag, nearly dropping whatever they were carrying in alarm when they caught sight of Theo. “What the hell happened?”

“I don’t think my nose is broken,” Theo lied unhelpfully, and then disappeared as he was ushered out of the room.

Aaron stared after him for a moment, stunned, and then burst into laughter. Elle fell back onto the bench in her stall, shaking her head. Regardless of whether all men were crazy or if it was just hockey men, she had come to the conclusion that the men around her, at least, seemed to be _batshit insane_.

 

* * *

  

The trainer, of course, did not keep Theo’s broken nose to himself.

The entire coaching staff became involved in the situation, and Elle, Aaron, Theo, and Henry were required to stay after practice the next day to sort it out.

“So,” Coach Gordon said cheerily to the assembled audience in the small conference room, “Anyone care to explain why Coach Jensen had to kick three of you out of practice?”

“Yanez has been harassing Elle for days, but he’s so delicate that he couldn’t take a little chirp in return,” Aaron said immediately.

“What the _fuck_ ,” Henry hissed. He was on the opposite side of the conference room table, sitting beside other coaches while Elle, Theo, and Aaron all sat beside each other. “She shouldn’t even _be_ here!”

“Say that again, jackass,” Elle hissed, twitching like she was about to leap across the table and finish whatever fight Theo had gotten into earlier.

Coach Gordon sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Henry,” he began calmly, “Elle belongs on this team. In case you forgot, _we drafted her_. It wasn’t by accident that she ended up in the NHL, or with our organization.”

“I’m sorry, but you’re content to let some fuckin’ little _girl_ come in here and try to take Davey’s spot? Or my spot?”

“Honestly, with the way you’ve been acting, we’d be perfectly happy to give her your spot.”

The room was stunned into silence, and then Henry exploded.

“Are you _fucking_ kidding me?” he yelled, rising to his feet. “I’ve been the starting goalie for the Phantoms for years. _Years_! I’ve been called up as backup for the Flyers. I’ve given my all, and you’re going to let this bitch just _take my spot_?”

“Whoops,” Elle said snidely, and Theo had to suppress a laugh with a fake cough while Aaron pointedly nudged her with his foot under the table.

Coach Gordon was decidedly unimpressed with the outburst. “The Flyers want team players because, in case you forgot, hockey is a _team sport_. If you don’t support even one person on the team, you can’t support the entire team as a whole.”

“That’s bullshit,” Henry hissed.

Coach Gordon quirked an eyebrow. “We don’t need people that aren’t team players. We’ve decided to buy out your contract.”

“ _What?_ ”

“Isaac will be starting goalie, and Elle will be his backup this season.”

Elle couldn’t believe what she was hearing. It was as good of a confirmation as any.

She would be playing professional hockey.

 

* * *

  

She signed a three-year entry level contract the next day, and when she called her mom to tell her, she screamed so loud that Elle’s ears were ringing.

All the horrible things she had been through the previous summer had finally paid off: Elle Queen was going to play professional hockey.

It was worth it.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for sticking around! here's the second and final chapter for this one. 
> 
> as always i'm horrible with typos and things of that nature so if you see anything please don't hesitate to let me know.
> 
> enjoy!

With Henry Yanez gone, Elle felt a weight lift off her shoulders. She played hockey through the rest of training camp with nothing to prove because she had _made it_. Being one of four goalies and some reassurance from the staff made it so that Elle could play her game and not have to fight for a spot she thought she would never get.

Elle wasn’t surprised when Aaron made the starting roster for the Flyers while she was sent down to the Phantoms. Some people were loaned out to other leagues from their native countries, like Finland or Sweden or Russia, but Elle, Theo, and Owen wound up in Lehigh Valley next door to each other in a hotel.

The captain of the Phantoms called each of them separately the first day they arrived with their suitcases. William Mackenzie insisted that they call him Mac and told them to reach out if they needed anything, and he promised to drive them to their first practice with the Phantoms so that they could learn the best route and not get lost.

Elle didn’t meet Mac until the next morning for their first practice, but she decided right away that she liked him a lot.

Owen sat in the passenger seat and Theo and Elle sat in the back when Mac drove up to the hotel to retrieve them. With their bags shoved into the back of his truck like a game of Tetris, Mac started off toward the rink.

They walked into the locker room and knew almost everyone there that had been involved with the Flyers training camp, with the exception of a few that had still been out of the country and Mac, whose family had just welcomed a baby within the last week.

“She’s the cutest thing in the world,” he gushed when Elle asked about it later, showing her a picture of a squishy pink face. “I get no sleep and she’s cranky as hell, but it’s the best.”

“You said that with your first two,” someone piped up wryly.

“It gets better each time,” Mac sighed wistfully. “But Sage said she’s done after Louise, which is fine. The world can only handle so many perfect kids, y’know?”

“Yeah, I’m surprised the world didn’t implode when _I_ was born,” Theo sighed dramatically.

“Sounds fake, but okay,” Elle said with a roll of her eyes.

Mac chuckled. “Okay, comedians, let’s see how perfect we are once we get out onto the ice, eh?”

 

* * *

 

The first practice with the Phantoms started off very similar to the beginning of training camp. Most guys knew her a little bit better now, but some were still hesitant, especially with rumors flying around that she had gotten Henry Yanez fired.

Elle did nothing to quell the rumors. People were going to talk, and there was only so much she could do to stop it. It was better to have a stupid rumor floating around rather than words or taunts that would hurt.

 

* * *

 

There was already a 33 on the Phantoms, some defenseman that Elle still didn’t know the first name of and was too ashamed to ask again.

“I want thirteen,” she told the equipment manager.

He raised an eyebrow skeptically. “An unlucky number,” he observed.

“Maybe,” Elle replied with a shrug.

13 was a number that got a bad reputation for no reason, but Elle kind of liked that. She was a lot like the number 13, too.

 

* * *

 

The season began with little incident, and Elle, Theo, and Owen somehow survived it. They still lived out of a hotel, but Theo pulled Elle aside after practice one day and changed everything.

“We should be roommates,” he said.

“Ha, funny.”

He scowled. “I’m not joking. Owen found a one-bedroom apartment a couple of minutes from here, and they have two-room apartments, too. I figure if we all live near each other, we can help each other out.”

“Living _near_ each other and living _with_ each other are two totally different things, man.”

“True, but we both have no clue what we’re doing,” he said with a shrug. “I hate to clean, and you said the other day that you can’t cook for shit. We could make this work.”

He looked so earnest, and Elle couldn’t help but roll her eyes at him. “If you’re so concerned with living with someone, why not Owen? At least he’s another guy.”

“So? Being a dude isn’t, like, a roomie requirement.”

“I didn’t even _like_ you for, like, a solid week after we met.”

“Ouch,” Theo crowed, quirking an eyebrow. “You like me just fine now though.” He hesitated. “Right?”

Elle thought back to watching _Friends_ on the bus and him coming into the locker room with a proudly displayed bloody nose. “Yeah, I like you just fine,” she admitted softly.

“So let’s do it,” Theo said, like it was just that simple.

“People will talk,” Elle said. Honestly, people talking was the last thing she needed. She had done her best to keep her head down and avoid attention so far, and there was considerably less talk about her floating around the internet.

“It sounds to me like you’re just coming up with more and more excuses, babe,” Theo hummed.

“Dude, you don’t get it, do you?” Elle snapped, feeling herself becoming irritated. “Do you know what people will say? It’s cool when guys on a team are roommates, but if I room with you, I’m going to get endless shit for it. I’ve already been accused of sleeping my way into the NHL.”

Theo’s expression darkened. “Who said that?”

“Who _hasn’t_?” Elle shot back. “It’s _everywhere_. Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, the comment section on articles. There’s a lot of hockey fans out there that think the only way I could ever get to be here is by buying my way in with favors.”

“Weird,” Theo said thoughtfully. “You never struck me as the type to care about what people think.”

“Well, I do,” Elle replied flatly. She hefted her bag higher on her shoulder, feeling self-conscious and in need of escape. It was the first time she was admitting how affected she was aloud. “I care a lot. Letting people know that I care would only make it worse, but if you had strangers saying the same things about you, or people like Henry who are supposed to be your _teammate_ saying you don’t belong, I bet you’d care, too.”

“Elle,” Theo murmured, but she was already out the door.

 

* * *

 

Thankfully, things returned to normal between Elle and Theo very quickly. He and Owen still came over to her hotel room to watch TV with her in the evenings after practice, or he would text her to invite her to the gym so they wouldn’t have to work out alone.

Neither talked about the roommate thing, and life was good as the season officially began.

 

* * *

 

Because her life was one big joke, her first game as a professional hockey player was a mess.

Elle was just eighteen years old, freshly drafted and assigned to the Phantoms. The season was three games in, and it was her first time on the ice for any professional league, so she was excited, at first.

This was it. Years of hearing that she was too small or too slow or too much of a girl had led her to a singular moment: stepping out onto the ice of a Phantoms home game to give Isaac a break.

The initial excitement for the game wore off rather quickly, especially when all she was hearing from the Hershey Bears players were crude words and insults.

_I’d bet you’d look much better out of that gear._

_Smile, sweetheart. It’d make you look prettier._

_You can’t let in just one, you know. I thought girls were used to taking it._

Theo heard that last one when he was in the vicinity and almost dropped his gloves, but Elle shoved her blocker in his face just as Mac fisted a hand in the back of his jersey.

“Don’t,” she hissed sharply.

Theo growled and let their fuming captain guide him away, leaving the Hershey player to laugh in his wake.

“Is your boyfriend always the jealous type?” he asked with a wicked grin.

Elle bared her teeth back in a twisted smile until he seemed to grow uncomfortable and skate away for the faceoff. She couldn’t let him know that his words really bothered her—she was Elle Queen. She had a reputation to live up to and smiling at the Bears like she was ready to stab them with her skate blade was better than letting them know they were getting to her.

She was very grateful for intermission so that she could take a moment to compose herself between each shitty period. They were down 2-1, which wasn’t terrible, but Elle couldn’t help but feel like she was letting her team down. The Bears were very aggressive in that particular game, finishing barely-legal checks and getting in slashes when they could get away with it. Everyone was becoming a little frustrated.

Collectively, they were a rubber band pulled taut and ready to snap. And snap they did.

During the third period, she covered the puck early on and one of the same Hershey players that kept bugging her—Prescot, number 55—took a few extra whacks at her glove, even after the whistle was blown. Theo sneered but refrained from attacking their opponent with one sharp look from Elle as she stood.

“Better luck next time,” she chirped sweetly, trying to cover up her annoyance as the referee skated toward her to grab the puck.

“Fuckin’ _whore_ ,” he hissed, shoving her off her feet. She fell on her butt, and the referee blew the whistle shrilly in warning. “You so good at making saves on your knees because you stay on them for the rest of the Phantoms?” Prescot continued, moving threateningly close.

There was no stopping Theo that time as he dropped the gloves, shouting, “Say that again, you useless fuck!” and leaping at Prescot.

“Stop!” Elle shouted, quickly climbing to her feet and reaching out.

Another one of the Bears skated in front of her, shoving her back. “Stay out of it,” he snapped.

Elle was _really_ tired of being shoved around. “Get the fuck out of my way,” she hissed, shoving him back in retaliation.

He shoved her again and was going in for a third shove, but Josh Shapera from the Phantoms had dropped his gloves and fisted the back of the Bear’s jersey, yanking him away from Elle. Josh was a huge defenseman, and he loomed over the Bear knowing that his 6’5 frame was intimidating. He didn’t even have to say anything as he pushed the guy away from Elle, practically emanating an energy that said _don’t fucking test me_.

Elle looked around for Theo again and found that he had tackled Prescot to the ice and was wailing on him like Alexander Semin in that video where his punches looked like he was playing the bongos. The referees leaped into the fray, trying to pull him away, but Theo clung to Prescot like he was ready to _kill_.

“Theo, get the fuck off of him!” Elle snapped, and only then did he go limp and allow himself to be pulled away.

Prescot looked like he had been in a boxing ring. Blood dribbled from both nostrils and his lip was split and swollen. Theo didn’t look too much better, as his nose was also bleeding. It didn’t look crooked like Prescot’s, though, and Elle was taken back to training camp when he had walked into the locker room displaying his broken nose proudly.

“Fuck you!” Prescot shouted, his voice nasally.

“Real fuckin’ creative,” Theo retorted, scowling as he was led back toward the bench and sent down the tunnel.

 

* * *

 

They lost 3-2, and Elle could barely mumble out a _thank you_ to Mac as he dropped her, Theo, and Owen off at their hotel.

The elevator ride up was tense and quiet. Owen stood between Elle and Theo, glancing back and forth like he was expecting someone to drop a bomb.

Theo did the honors of living up to expectations as soon as the doors had closed. “I’m sorry.”

Owen jumped on the chance to say something. “It wasn’t your fault,” he quickly reassured.

“They scored on the power play that my fight gave them,” Theo muttered.

“Maybe you shouldn’t have attacked him,” Elle replied accusingly.

Owen grimaced. “Please don’t fight.”

“Wow, way to thank a teammate for looking out for you,” Theo hissed back, either not hearing or completely ignoring Owen.

“ _Thank you_?” Elle squawked. “You ruined _everything_! People who don’t want women in the NHL are worried that the guys won’t be able to resist playing hero for every fucking little thing. So what if he smacked my blocker one time too many? I’ve had worse. So what if he shoved me called me a mean name? Believe it or not, _I’ve had worse_.”

Theo didn’t look at all pleased by her words. “What’s the point of being on a team that isn’t going to stand up for you?” he shouted back.

The elevator stopped, but it wasn’t their floor. A couple was about to enter as the doors opened, but Owen frantically shook his head and said, “Trust me, you want the next one.”

“I don’t _need_ you to stand up for me!” Elle snapped as the elevator doors slid slowly shut, the confused couple staring at them with wide eyes. “I’m not a damsel in distress, jackass.”

“I know that,” Theo replied huffily. “I didn’t say you were.”

“Then why the _fuck_ would you start a fight over some shitty _words_? Words can’t hurt me!”

“You said they did, so I sent him a message,” Theo snapped. Elle stared at him, and the elevator was quiet as Owen stared fixatedly at the doors, waiting for his chance to escape.

Theo licked his lips and cleared his throat. “You said,” he began slowly, quietly, “You said that you care a lot about what people say and think about you.”

Elle breathed out, her shoulders slumping. “Yeah,” she muttered,

“ _Yeah_ ,” Theo said back. “Believe it or not, I care, too. I don’t like what he was saying to you. I don’t like what _any_ of them had to say to you, so I let them know.”

“From what I heard while I was on the ice,” Owen offered thoughtfully, “None of them said anything shitty after Theo almost killed their guy.”

“I didn’t almost kill him,” Theo protested shrilly, offended.

“You did,” Owen and Elle said in unison.

“Look,” Theo said, scowling. “I looked out for my teammate. I would have done it for anyone else on our team. I don’t regret what I did, and I’m not sorry for it.”

“Fine,” Elle said. “But you have to promise that you won’t do it again.”

“I can’t do that,” Theo replied. “He hit your blocker after the whistle, and I let it slide because that’s what you wanted. But then he _shoved_ you, and that is _not_ fucking okay. I’d defend Davey like that if it happened to him, and I’m not going to say that I wouldn’t do it for you, too.”

“You can’t fight every asshole that calls me names or shoves me,” Elle snapped.

The elevator dinged as they reached the twenty-fifth floor, and Owen let out a very relieved and quiet, “Oh thank god,” before dashing out of the warzone.

“Maybe not,” Theo said as they walked out much slower behind Owen. “Doesn’t mean I can’t try.”

Elle shot him one last withering look before barging into her room and letting the door slam shut behind her.

 

* * *

  

Elle didn’t know what else to do, so she called Mac.

“You need to tell Theo to knock it off,” she said.

Mac let out a weary sigh. “Honestly, kid, if he hadn’t done it, someone else would have. The only reason no one else got into it with Prescot is because Josh was making sure that one guy stayed away from you, and I was on the ice to trying to make sure that DJ and Norm didn’t attack another one of the Bears. Still—no one is going to let their goalie be treated like that.”

“Yeah, but no one else leaped at that guy like a _WWE wrestler_.”

Mac snorted. “Yeah, Theo went a bit too far, but his heart was in the right place. I’ll talk to him, ask him to calm down a bit.”

“A lot,” Elle corrected. “Ask him to calm down _a lot_. He’s going to get a ton of penalties if he continues to act like that.”

“I know,” Mac said softly. Then, “Any luck looking for an apartment?”

She almost wanted to call him out on changing the topic, but she did not. She had said what needed to be said, and he had listened and agreed, so she was content to move on.

“Not yet,” Elle admitted. “I’ve looked at a couple, but it’s weird looking for an apartment of my own. I’ve never lived on my own before, y’know?”

“Trust me, I know. I’ve been there.” Mac laughed. “Hey, if you don’t find anything soon, Sage and I would be happy to have you stay with us until you figure something out. We have some spare bedrooms, and if you don’t mind a newborn screaming occasionally, it’s yours if you want it.”

Elle blinked, taken off guard. “I—okay,” she said after a moment. “I mean, if you wouldn’t mind, I would like to take you up on that offer.”

“Great. Pack up your stuff when you’re ready, and our spare room is all yours.”

 

* * *

 

Elle moved into Mac’s home a little over a week later at the same time _someone else_ was moving in, too.

“You didn’t tell me Theo was also moving in,” Elle told Mac accusingly once she had watched the man in question go upstairs with a suitcase in hand.

Mac blinked innocently. “Is it a problem? He’ll have a different room, of course, since we’ve got two guest rooms.”

Elle smelled some scheming, but she wasn’t about to call Mac out on it when he was the one doing her a favor. “No problem,” she finally said, just as his wife appeared in the entryway to greet her.

Sage Mackenzie was the cutest person Elle had ever met. She was on the small side height-wise with curly red hair that barely brushed her collar bones, and when she hugged Elle she smelled like strawberries. Sage was practically the personification of sunshine, and Elle found that she loved her already.

Their boys were also redheads like their mom, and they were very excited by the presence of new people, which they demonstrated by attaching themselves to Theo and Elle almost immediately. The eldest was Landon, who was seven, and Levi, who was four, and Sage even waved a drooling Louise’s little hand in greeting.

“Is this because Owen moved into an apartment?” Elle asked Mac as he carried one of her suitcases up the stairs to the guestroom.

“A little,” Mac admitted. “I didn’t want you and Theo to be stuck in a hotel for months.”

“We wouldn’t have been,” Elle snorted. “Owen has his life together, but I doubt it would take us _months_ just to find a place to live.”

“Sure,” Mac said teasingly, and left her to unpack her things.

 

* * *

 

Elle sat on the bench for most games, but she found that she didn’t mind. She felt lucky to get any ice time at all, and she was grateful just to _be_ in the AHL.

She started her second game when they were seven games in, which they won. Elle practically shrieked when she collected her first win, her teammates cheering as they swarmed around her for fist bumps and head taps.

“Good one,” Isaac Davis told her, and even though they were not the best of buds, he smiled to show that he meant it.

“Thanks, Davey,” Elle replied, beaming.

Winning had never felt so good.

 

* * *

 

_Ice Queen Records First Win_ was published several minutes after the game. Elle didn’t see it until the next morning, and by then, _#icequeen_ was trending in the top five on Twitter.

_Ice Queen dominates the ice in her first professional win_ , most of the articles said now. _Allowing only 2 of 31 shots in her first win and 3 of 29 in her debut, she begins the season with a 0.917 SV%._

_We stan a royal goalie! #icequeen_ , one tweet read.

_YES QUEEN #icequeen @LVPhantoms,_ said another.

Even the Phantoms' official Twitter account had tweeted about it with a picture of her celebrating with her team with the final score across the bottom as well as the caption, _It's a W for our #icequeen! Congrats, Elle!_

Theo pestered Elle into making an account and demanded that her handle be @icequeenelle.

She didn’t argue. She was already a Queen; it was about time the hockey world knew it, too.

The team also had a blast with the nickname.

It was Mac that started it, of course, calling her Ice Queen in a joking manner around the house and at the rink, and the other guys picked up on it too.

It wasn’t degrading like the media had made it out to be when she had first been drafted. Ice Queen no longer meant _frigid bitch who won’t smile_ —now, it meant _fantastic player who controls her net with ease_.

(That might have come from one of her favorite articles.)

Of course, it started off as a joke when the guys called her Ice Queen. It would have made her angry or upset just a few short weeks before, but now it no longer bothered her.

Elle _was_ a Queen, and even though it had started off as an insult, her team had taken the name and spun it into something positive. She decided that she would reclaim the name and wear it with pride.

 

* * *

 

Elle introduced The Jar to the team with Mac’s approval a month into the season.

“Every time you say something sexist or racist or homophobic, you’re paying ten dollars,” Mac told the room at large. “Even if you didn’t mean for it to be taken as derogatory, you pay the fine. If me or one of the alternates or Elle calls you out, you pay the fine, no arguing. Whatever is in here at the end of the year is going to You Can Play.”

“Can we call each other out to pay the fines?” Josh Shapera asked, and Elle beamed.

 

* * *

 

Elle found that she really liked her team.

It took a while, of course. Most of them had been rather standoffish and hesitant to get to know her, likely due to the rumors that she had gotten Henry Yanez fired. They warmed up to her eventually, inviting her to go out with them and to video game nights.

Elle wasn’t quite sure how it happened, but suddenly she had more than just a team. She had a _home_.

 

* * *

 

Moving into the same place as Theo meant that Elle couldn’t escape him or the one thing he kept saying.

“Let’s be roommates,” Theo said to her almost every day since they had moved into Mac’s house.

This time, it was over breakfast on an off day with Sage trying to calm her screaming baby while Mac fried bacon and Landon and Levi babbled about something that no one could quite understand.

“No,” Elle replied, not for the first time. “When are you going to stop asking?”

“When you say yes.”

 

* * *

 

Elle found herself slowly caving in a few weeks later.

Theo didn’t try to do anything to convince her that they _needed_ to be roommates. He would ask her, and then when she said no, he wouldn’t say anything else on the subject for the rest of the day. He didn’t try to push her or badger her into saying yes, and that was something Elle appreciated.

They grew closer, as those that live together often do, and when they needed a break from living with a new baby and hyper children, they often found themselves going out together to the movies or to go bowling or laser tagging.

She wasn’t quite sure how the friendship snuck up on her, but Elle couldn’t deny that Theo was quickly becoming her best friend.

“He’s trying to manipulate me into being his roommate,” Elle told Calvin on the phone one night. “I’m certain of it.”

“Well, maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad thing?” Calvin offered hesitantly. “We managed to live together without much trauma.”

“You pushed me off of your bunkbed once and I had to get staples in my head. I didn’t play hockey for _weeks_ after that.”

“To be fair, you shoved me down the stairs in retaliation and cackled when I cried about it,” Calvin replied.

“You didn’t break anything.”

“I could have _died_ , dipshit.”

“I could have too!” Elle snapped. “I was _tiny_ and your bed was _tall_ , dude.”

Calvin groaned. “ _Whatever_. What I’m saying is, you should do it. I think it would be good for you. Or if you’re really not that comfortable with it, maybe try to make some friends outside the team. All that testosterone can’t be good for you.”

“It definitely isn’t,” Elle agreed with a long-suffering sigh. “Living with Theo wouldn’t exactly make that any better, though.”

“I mean, it can’t be any worse, either,” Calvin said, and she could almost picture him shrugging. “Why not give it a try? If it doesn’t work out, all you have to do is move out.”

“I won’t be able to if I sign a lease.”

“Make him put it in his name. If he wants you to be his roommate bad enough, I bet he’ll agree if you set that as a condition. If it _really_ doesn’t work out, you can move out at the end of the season.”

“Did he put you up to this?” Elle demanded. “I feel like he’s the type who would.”

“No, I’m just looking out for you,” Calvin snorted. Haughtily, he added, “It’s what older brothers do.”

Elle groaned loudly. “Three minutes. You’re only _three minute_ s older than me.”

“Best three minutes of my _life_.”

“I hate you.”

“Love you too, bye.”

 

* * *

 

“So, Elle,” Theo said as he laced up his skates a few stalls over. “We should be roommates.”

Elle let out a sigh as she braided her hair away from her face. “Yeah, okay.”

The locker room descended into silence so quickly that it was like someone had hit the mute button for a TV. Elle glanced up with a frown, her hair still between her fingers, to find that everyone was staring at her with obvious shock.

“What?” she demanded self-consciously.

Mac looked far too pleased. “You agreed to be his roommate.”

“Yeah, so?”

“You’ve been saying no _forever_ ,” Josh said.

“It’s literally only November—” Elle tried to say.

“She said yes!” one of Mac’s alternates, Kevin Ko, crowed.

Elle scowled in response. “It’s not, like, a marriage proposal or something,” she said. “Never mind, I take it back.”

“Goddammit, KK just had to ruin it,” Owen said.

Theo turned to Elle and smugly proclaimed, “No takesies backsies, babe.”

“You’re a fucking _child_ ,” Elle hissed grumpily.

“Your _roommate_ child!” Theo declared proudly.

Elle wondered if she should regret every choice she had made up to this moment, but she couldn’t quite bring herself to.

 

* * *

 

Two weeks later, Theo shoved the last Walmart-bought cup into the cabinet and shut it with a satisfied sigh.

“That’s it,” he said cheerily, turning around to face Elle where she sat at the kitchen island. “We’re officially all moved in.”

Elle looked around at their apartment. “Are you sure about this?” she asked, even though it was a little late to be backing out. Theo had signed the lease, and Elle had already paid her half of the first month’s rent.

Theo hummed. “I’m sure as long as you’re sure.”

“I’m never sure,” Elle blurted. “I’m really nervous, actually.”

It felt weird to say that she was anxious aloud, but Theo didn’t seem to mind. “Me too,” he admitted. “But this—this will be great. That’s one thing I _am_ sure of.”

_This_ could have meant many different things. _This_ could have been referring to their living situation, or their friendship, or that they both played for a professional hockey league. _This_ was entire season full of promise and possibility laid out before them.

Theo had turned toward their newly filled pantry. “I’m feeling spaghetti tonight. Thoughts?”

Elle grinned. _This_ was definitely bound to be something _good_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading and i'll see ya next time!

**Author's Note:**

> warnings: blood and broken noses, verbal sexual harassment
> 
> as usual, thanks for reading! if there are any mistakes or problems feel free to point them out and i will fix them asap :)


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